I wrote the longer version, with my full study order and notes on the white paper sections, on my blog .

The CNPA exam barely cares how well you can configure any single platform tool. Most people prepare as if it did, and I did a softer version of that myself. I passed the Certified Cloud Native Platform Engineering Associate with 88 on the first attempt (passing is 75), but a few of my 15 prep hours went into things the exam never asked about.

What CNPA covers

KCNA is broad Kubernetes ecosystem theory. CNPA covers the discipline of platform engineering on top of Kubernetes: organizational patterns, the developer experience layer, and how you measure a platform.

Multiple choice, online proctored, 120 minutes, around 85 questions.

Domain Weight

Platform Engineering Core Fundamentals 36%

Platform Observability, Security, and Conformance 20%

Continuous Delivery and Platform Engineering 16%

Platform APIs and Provisioning Infrastructure 12%

IDPs and Developer Experience 8%

Measuring your Platform…